Next Steps For Holderness Athletes

4/15/2019

Max Paro '17

As the snow seems to finally be exiting the Holderness campus, the college admissions season too is coming to a close. For some members of the class of 2019, this has meant deciding where they will continue their athletic careers in the coming years. This year, three Holderness seniors (Connor Androlewicz ‘19, Beckham Bayreuther ‘19 and KC Carter ‘19) have committed to play Division I athletics at the next level.

Beckham Beyreuther “knew [he] wanted to play lacrosse,” and after talking to coaches and visiting campuses, Beckham fell in love with Lafayette College. Outside of the school’s small community that reminded him of Holderness, a conversation with first-year Head Coach Patrick Myers gave Beckham confidence that Lafayette was the right choice: “[Coach Myers] talked a ton about just building the program, … I loved the idea that I could be a major part in that. He believed in me a ton which was really nice.”

When asked if he had any goals for his final season as a Bull, Beckham replied, “To have fun. It’s always fun beating teams you haven’t always beat, like Exeter in our very first game. We haven’t beat them since, I think [Coach Duane Ford ‘74] said 2001…. I hope to make it to playoffs; playoffs are always the most fun because that’s when everyone has really bought in. It’s super intense.”

For the past few seasons, the boys’ varsity lacrosse team has been in a retooling phase and has needed underclassmen to help fill the holes left by past Bulls. “It’s super interesting this year because we’ve lost so many of our really strong guys… and very similarly [to last year], we just weren’t sure what it was going to look like.” On a team that features only three seniors in the starting lineup, the Bulls are young and “ready to bring it.”

Beckham Beyreuther '19 on the field vs. St. Paul's School

When it came time to make a decision about her future, KC Carter chose Cornell University because “the coaches and the team made [her] feel at home.” Cornell’s academic reputation also factored into KC’s decision: “The education you get from there is like no other.”

KC has played a major role in the turnaround of the girls’ varsity basketball program. After a 2-17 season her sophomore year, the girls’ varsity basketball team has won back to back NEPSAC Class D championships, with KC claiming the MVP trophy both times. “After my freshman year we lost basically the whole starting lineup, and it was like, alright, now it’s time to rebuild.” Head Coach Joe Arsenault worked to recruit “bigs and guards… that helped the team build, and we were able to compete.”

This year’s girls’ varsity basketball team, in spite of their small size, was able to accomplish things, such as a win over New Hampton School, that the program had never done during Coach Arsenault’s tenure. Responding to the question “What made this year’s team special,” KC answered, “We were only missing a big; I had to play the big… [but] we all knew how to dribble, pass, we all knew the fundamentals. We had a lot of chemistry, …it made it easy. We all played with heart throughout the whole season, and it all payed off.”

KC Carter '19 with the jump shot vs. Vermont Academy

It wasn’t until after the final horn of the NEPSAC Boys’ Hockey Small School Championship sounded that Connor Androlewicz knew the University of Maine might be an option. “After the finals, they came up to me and said, ‘hey, we’re pretty interested. We want to get you up for a tour.’...As soon as I got on campus, I was made welcome by their staff; that was the biggest thing for me. Their staff was really invested in their players, and they want to get the best out of their players.”

Connor will spend next year playing junior hockey for the Maine Nordiques in the North American Hockey League. He will be joined by fellow Holderness teammates Isaiah Fox ‘19 and Kevin Pitts ‘19 as they take the opportunity for a gap year to play for the Nordiques. “We all knew we were going to play juniors,” says Connor, “but being able to play together is that much better.” Connor signed with the Nordiques the day before he made his commitment to the University of Maine. “It works out well for me, being only an hour and a half away from [U. Maine], so they can come down and watch practices, watch games, and be involved in my development.”

Addressing some of the misconceptions that surround junior hockey, Connor stated, “A lot of people don’t understand junior hockey because hockey is one of the only sports that has juniors. It gives kids the ability to play another year or two and develop their craft. Mainly, the reason kids who are committed [to colleges] play juniors is because the school wants them to. Now the average freshman is 20 or 21. They want you to be men and be fully developed.… Yes, you’re getting away from school.… I know for me, I’m going to try to take one or two online classes just to stay in the loop of things. I guess it kind of has a bad reputation, …but I think juniors is a good opportunity to allow kids to develop themselves and be ready for college when they go in.”

Going into the winter, the status of the boys’ varsity hockey team was a mystery to many. With a roster full of fresh faces, the team was unsure how strong they would be. “All of the returning guys, we were kind of iffy,” says Connor. “I wouldn’t have said we were going to make it to the finals.” After a “rough-ish start” to the season, the team came back from Parents’ Weekend and “beat Tilton and tied KUA and that turned our season around. Before Parents’ Weekend, we knew we had a shot at the playoffs, we were kind of in the picture, and I think just after that Tilton game… we were like, hey, we can compete with anyone we play against.” The Bulls found their stride in the second half of the season. “We came together as a team and played more five-man unit hockey. It helped us create more success down the road. In the locker room, everyone was playing for each other and it all came together. Everyone was putting everything on the line and was working hard for everyone beside them.”

Connor Androlewicz '19 blocks a shot in the playoff game vs. Proctor Academy

With only a handful of weeks left, the Bulls look to end the school year strong and make the Class of 2019’s final season in Holderness Blue special.

List of 3 news stories.

Albert Bierstadt, the German-American painter renowned for his landscapes of the American West, came to the White Mountains to capture its simple yet overwhelming beauty. What came to life through nearly a decade’s worth of work was The Emerald Pool, a massive oil-on-canvas monument to the natural majesty of a hidden swimming hole along the Peabody River in the Pinkham Notch. Recounting The Emerald Pool, Bierstadt said, “I never had so difficult a picture to paint, as this White Mountain subject the Emerald Pool; my artist friends think it my best picture and so do I.”

At Holderness we deliberately build community through the people we bring in and programs we support. Today I want to share one story about people who showed us what it means to be a mission-centered community and talk about one unique program that is hitting a milestone.

Kicking off its 141st year, Holderness School welcomed new students to campus on September 5th. Under blue skies and surrounded by the cheers of joyful Senior Leaders, 114 new students eagerly joined the Holderness School community. The day was filled with smiles as new students and families unpacked their cars and turned dorm rooms into a home away from home.